Russia said supplying Iran with intel, as Ukraine military drone experts expected in Gulf

The Washington Post reported Friday that Russia has been assisting Iran in its war with the US and Israel by providing intelligence on the locations of American military assets in the Middle East. The report cited US officials familiar with the details.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian military personnel are expected to arrive in the Gulf soon to help countries there fend off Iranian drone attacks, a senior Ukrainian official told AFP Friday.

Since the US and Israel launched their opening attack on Iran on Saturday, Russia has given Iran the locations of several US military assets, the sources said, including warships and aircraft.

The Washington Post report noted that the extent to which Russia is able to provide accurate information to Iran is unclear, although one of the sources said it appeared to be “a pretty comprehensive effort” on Moscow’s part.

The White House downplayed the report. “It clearly is not making a difference with respect to the military operations in Iran because we are completely decimating them,” House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.

“We are achieving the military objectives of this operation and that is going to continue,” Leavitt said.

Iran has launched numerous attacks on US assets in the region in retaliation for the American-Israeli campaign.

CNN reported Friday that satellite imagery shows several US radar sites in the region have been hit in recent days, impeding air defense capabilities, including one servicing a THAAD defense battery in Jordan and several radar systems in the United Arab Emirates. The New York Times reported on seven US radar and communication sites hit across the region.

Iranian drones and missiles have been pummelling Israel and the Gulf since the outbreak of war on Saturday.

Six US service members were killed in a drone attack on a US base in Kuwait on Sunday and the CIA station in Riyadh has also been hit.

“The Russians are more than aware of the assistance that we’re giving the Ukrainians,” one source told The Post. “I think they were very happy to try to get some payback.”

At the same time, officials assessed that Russia’s focus remains firmly on Ukraine, and that it will not devote significant resources to Iran.

Russia and Iran have long enjoyed close ties, and in January 2025, the two countries signed a strategic partnership agreement to further improve cooperation, including military and defense partnerships.

Earlier this week, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Russia was “not really a factor” in the fighting with Iran.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that the United States had appealed for help from Kyiv in downing Iranian drones, due to their expertise in defending against those threats over the years of the war with Russia.

Russia has deployed thousands of the Iranian-designed Shahed drones against Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure, including energy facilities.

“The arrival of Ukrainian military personnel in the Persian Gulf is expected in the near future,” the source told AFP, cautioning that talks were still underway to “determine how to make this happen” and that “right now everything is being decided.”

Kyiv has developed a range of cheap and effective drone interceptors — aerial craft designed to hit incoming attack drones mid-air.

Zelensky has said that in return for Ukrainian anti-drone help, Gulf countries could provide Kyiv with missiles for air defense systems that were supplied to Ukraine by Western countries.

He has also suggested that Gulf countries with open ties to the Kremlin could pressure Russia to halt its war in Ukraine in return for Ukrainian military support.

“We need missiles for Patriots, funding for weapons production for our defense, and diplomatic support to end the war here,” the source told AFP.

“Depending on our partners’ capabilities, we determine what it can be,” the source added, referring to what Ukraine could receive in return.

A top manager from the Ukrainian defense sector separately told AFP that there was “a lot of interest” in Ukrainian anti-drone warfare from “private and public channels” in Gulf countries.

“It’s not only about the products or gadgets, it’s also about complex solutions that consist with gadgets, solutions, teams,” said the manager, who asked not to be named to speak on sensitive military issues.

That source said that requests had come from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as the United States.

“It gives us a lot of geopolitical power. It gives us a chair near these big geopolitical powers, so it’s very important for us and for our country,” the defense sector source said.

The source added that solutions could be provided from “a couple days to a couple weeks.”